Desiderata Daedalus Review

August 17, 2014

(This is both my first post and first review)

I bought this pen a few weeks ago and have been using it quite a bit. This is my first modern flex pen so I unfortunately cannot compare with either Noodler's or FPR's models (I have three vintage flex pens though.) The pen I originally bought was a purpleheart and cedar wooden pen. Pierre (the make of the pens) had ran into some issues during production (from what I recall the cedar giving him trouble while he was finishing the wood,) so he gave me a choice of either a full refund or a pen made of another material. I told him my preference would be for an ebonite ripple pen.

The pen, as many of you I'm sure know, was built with input from members of this forum and was an attempt to build an "inexpensive, high performance, modern flex pen." I think Pierre has succeeded. The pen accomplishes it's lofty goal by using a flexible dip nib instead of a stainless steel or gold fountain pen nib. The downside is that they will eventually wear out and need to be replaced. Fortunately, these nibs seem quite long-lasting. I've been using the same nib for three weeks now and it's still performing great. Smooth, great hairlines, and no sign of corrosion yet. I do keep the pen stored up to not let the nib sit in ink while not in use. Replacement nibs are only a couple bucks though. Even less if purchased in bulk. For me, it's entirely worth it, even if I have to replace the nib each month.

The flow is superb. In roughly three weeks of fairly heavy use, I've only had a handful of instances of railroading. While I've only used this pen on either Rhodia or Clairefontaine (I use those papers exclusively), I don't believe this would work well on cheaper papers. However, that is to be expected with any flex pen.

The build quality is excellent and I think these pens are a steal at their current prices. I had read a few comments on Desiderata Pen Co.'s FB page saying that the pens seemed expensive which seemed ludicrous to me: it's a hand-turned pen with a hand-made feed and the asking price was well under 100USD. It's unreasonable to compare a hand-turned pen with an injection-molded pen.

I would highly recommend this pen to anyone who is familar with fountain pens and their upkeep and wants great flex. Because of the maintenance involved, it might not be a good recommendation for someone brand new, however.

For the record, I have no affiliation with Pierre, other than as a satisfied customer.

Here's a writing sample (please excuse my terrible handwriting)

The paper is Rhodia R 90gsm and the ink is Rohrer and Klinger Alt-Goldgrun for the Daedalus and the Wahl. Iroshizuku Yama-Budo for the Waterman and Morrison.

http://i1371.photobucket.com/albums/ag318/rpsyed/DesiderataDaedalusWritingSample_zps441c4eb5.jpg

August 17, 2014

Could you also post pictures of the pen itself? It'd be quite interesting to see. Thanks in advance!

August 17, 2014

Which nib did it come with? I got one of the prototype pens to test, which had the Zebra G nib on it. It worked fairly well with iron gall ink, but the nib was very scratchy, even on Rhodia paper. I'd love to see one of those with a nib that had real tipping on it, but then the trade-off would be the amount of flex.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

August 17, 2014

Could you also post pictures of the pen itself? It'd be quite interesting to see. Thanks in advance!

Which nib did it come with? I got one of the prototype pens to test, which had the Zebra G nib on it. It worked fairly well with iron gall ink, but the nib was very scratchy, even on Rhodia paper. I'd love to see one of those with a nib that had real tipping on it, but then the trade-off would be the amount of flex.
Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

I received the Zebra G with my pen. It's not butter smooth for sure, there is some feedback. I think that's mainly from how fine the nib is. From what I understand it will grow scratchy overtime.

I apologize, I took these photos with my iPad and when I attached them they are all upside down. I believe better photos exist on Desiderata's FB page.

August 17, 2014

Nice looking pen and you're getting good results. This is a piston filler?

August 17, 2014

It looks cool. Thanks for sharing the pics with us!

August 18, 2014

Nice looking pen and you're getting good results. This is a piston filler?

His pen happens not to be a piston filler, but a different filling system is "in the pipeline" so to speak. Be patient. (On the order of several months, not years.)

August 20, 2014

Where can you buy this pen? I can't find a website on google. Is it sold on Amazon or fleabay?

August 20, 2014

I found a link to a website on their facebook, but it requires a password to get in!

The pens look very interesting.

August 21, 2014

No affiliation with Pierre, but here is his Etsy page where he listed the first batch for sale. Lets hope he gets some more done soon.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/PrestoTenebroso

August 22, 2014

What surprises me is his ability to avoid the flow problems I've had with all of my Frankenpens. With fountain pens, the closest I've had in terms of flex to the Desiderata is a MT Blackbird. It was $100 and if the nib cracks or gets sprung I'm basically back to square one. Zebra Gs are $1-2 and available widely. I think Presto is a bright man and on to something. I can't wait for him to build up supplies so I can buy another.

I have no relationship to this company other than being a tester on the original model.

Paul